The Prince George Cougars had the early lead, in regulation time and the shootout, but could not finish off the Regina Pats.
The Pats battled back from a 3-1 lead and delivered a crunching knockout body shot in final round of the shootout when Zack Smith scored the second Regina goal that cinched a 5-4 victory Wednesday night in front of 3,776 onlookers at the Brandt Centre in Regina.
Shootouts have not been kind to the Cougars, who are 0-for-4 this season in the point-settling skills contest. Ilijah Colina scored on Pats goalie Max Paddock in the first round but Cole Dubinsky deked Taylor Gauthier, setting the stage for Smith in the fifth round, and he went forehand-backhand on Gauthier. The final Cougars' shooter, Tyson Upper, was stopped by Paddock.
Paddock made 31 saves through 65 minutes of game action for his 10th win of the season. Gauthier stopped 41 shots in the Cougar nets.
"We did some good things for parts of the game and if you look at the goals that they got, maybe one or two mistakes that led to them capitalizing on an opportunity on our net," said Cougars associate coach Jason Smith. "I think there's room to tighten up the mistakes we're making and it's pretty simple stuff, it's just down to execution and detail."
Logan Nijhoff gave the Pats a two-goal effort, and his second of the night tied it up with 3:12 left in the third period. Smith and Carson Denomie fired singles for the Pats.
There were some turnovers in the neutral zone that allowed them to get some momentum and then there were times when we had opportunities to get the puck out of our end," said Jason Smith. "If you don't get the puck out of your end you end up spending more time defending and that allows them to build momentum.
"Even though they might not score that instance or that shift, they build a little momentum and confidence and that goes a long ways in getting the game to change in a hurry."
Filip Koffer led the Cougars' cause with two goals, the first multi-goal game for the WHL rookie since he came over from the Czech Republic. Brendan Boyle and Connor Bowie also scored for Prince George.
Koffer struck first with a power-play goal 9:46 into the game and followed that up two minutes later with his sixth goal of the season. Denomie cut the lead in half, popping in a loose puck that bounced off the skate of Cougars defenceman Rhett Rhinehart. Boyle answered late in the period with his second career WHL goal, assisted by rookie winger Davin Griffin, a Regina native, who picked up his first WHL point.
The Pats countered with goals from Nijhoff and Smith 50 seconds apart in the second period to tie it 3-3. But late in the period Bowie batted in a loose puck after Koffer carried the puck in and whiffed on a shot. Kohner also drew an assist, his second point of the game. The 4-3 lead stood up until late in the third period when Nijhoff capped a dominant Regina shift with a shot from the top of the crease that slipped through Gauthier's armour.
With the overtime point, the Cougars (10-22-2-4, 10th in Western Conference) moved to within seven points of the idle Seattle Thunderbirds for the second wild-card playoff spot in the conference. The T-birds hold two games in hand. The Pats (12-21-3-2) remained fifth in the East Division.
LOOSE PUCKS: The Cougars' tour of the East Division continues Friday in Prince Albert for a game against the Raiders (starting at 5 p.m. PT), followed by a Saturday date with the Saskatoon Blades. The Cats then cross into Manitoba to play the Winnipeg Ice next Tuesday and visit the Brandon Wheat Kings on Wednesday, ending with a Friday, Jan. 17 game in Moose Jaw against the Warriors... Cats winger Mitch Kohner, in his return after missing two games with a lower-body injury, had two assists... Fifteen-year-old defenceman Keaton Dowhaniuk played his third WHL game for the Cougars lining up on the blueline with 16-year-old rookie Ethan Samson... Cougar RW Reid Perepeluk returned after serving a two-game suspension. C Ethan Browne is back with the Cougars after leaving the team to return to his home in Sherwood Park, Alta. for personal reasons. The talented 19-year-old hasn't played since Dec. 17 when he drew an assist in a 3-0 win over Vancouver. He's missed the last six games.
